Tennessee's Black Caucus of State Legislators have elected new leaders for the 111th General Assembly, voting on Rep. G.A. Hardaway to lead the group of minority lawmakers.

Hardaway, D-Memphis, was elected chairman, the caucus announced Friday.

"It is an honor to be chosen by my colleagues to lead the fight to produce and advance legislation that benefits not only African-Americans, but all disenfranchised citizens across the entire state of Tennessee," Hardaway said in a statement.

State Rep. G.A. Hardaway Sr., center, has been elected chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators.(Photo: Nikki Boertman, The Commercial Appeal)

The caucus was most recently led by now-Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, who was previously in the House of Representatives. Akbari is now caucus chair of the Senate Democrats.

The caucus consists of 17 members of the House and Senate and is open to both parties, though there are no black Republicans in the legislature.

Hardaway said the caucus would soon release its list of goals and objectives for the session.

The following members were also elected to leadership roles in the black caucus:

Vice chairman: Rep. Rick Staples, D-Knoxville

Treasurer: Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville

Secretary: Rep. London Lamar, D-Memphis

Chaplain: Rep. John DeBerry, D-Memphis

Parliamentarian: Rep. Jesse Chism, D-Memphis

Sergeant at Arms: Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.